Series: Reckoners

BOOK REVIEW: Calamity (Reckoners #3) by Brandon Sanderson

BOOK REVIEW: Calamity (Reckoners #3) by Brandon SandersonCalamity (Reckoners #3)
by Brandon Sanderson
Purchase on: AmazoniBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:

When Calamity lit up the sky, the Epics were born. David’s fate has been tied to their villainy ever since that historic night. Steelheart killed his father. Firefight stole his heart. And now Regalia has turned his closest ally into a dangerous enemy.

David knew Prof’s secret, and kept it even when Prof struggled to control the effects of his Epic powers. But facing Obliteration in Babilar was too much. Once the Reckoners’ leader, Prof has now embraced his Epic destiny. He’s disappeared into those murky shadows of menace Epics are infamous for the world over, and everyone knows there’s no turning back...

But everyone is wrong. Redemption is possible for Epics—Megan proved it. They’re not lost. Not completely. And David is just about crazy enough to face down the most powerful High Epic of all to get his friend back. Or die trying.

The last book in the series.

 

There will be heroes. Just wait.

I think this is one of those reviews where I’m going to make it quick: This series, these characters, this author are epic. Truly. I have loved every single minute of this series from beginning to end…

Where we’re from, there’s no sun,
Our hometown’s in the dark,
Where we’re from, we’re no one,
Our hometown’s in the dark,
Our hometown’s in the dark

Twenty-one pilots song PERFECT for this series! 😛

and I’m not going to tarnish something I’ve always enjoyed with lots of complaints and rambling about where things went wrong. Because as much as I’ve enjoyed this series, this finale fell completely short….in more ways than one.

Everyone took a turn driving except me. Which was completely unfair. Just because of that one time. Well, and that other time. And the one with the mailbox, but seriously, who remembered that anymore?

Book one and book two were shocking to me in a way that captured me from the bottom of my heart. David was a character that made me laugh, smile, and root for every little thing he did. I thrived on his horrible metaphors/similes

To a drone I’d have a tiny heat signature, like a squirrel or something. A secretly very, very deadly squirrel.

and his primal need to be a part of something that shaped his soul from the moment Steelheart stole his childhood. He’s nerdy, sweet, kind, and loyal in ways that are hard to find in YA fantasy (I mean, he’s the first adorable nerd I’ve found). And his resolute belief that Epics can’t be good was something that shaped him into the adorkable boy we met today-until he met Megan.

“You,” I said, tipping her chin up to look her in the eye, “are a sunrise.”
She cocked her head. “A…sunrise?”
“Yup.”
“Not a potato?”
“Not right now.”
“Not a hippo?”
“No, and…wait, when did I call you a hippo?”
“Last week. You were drowsy.”
Sparks. Didn’t remember that one.

That plot twist in book one was beyond words amazing, making me drop my jaw and gasp into the dark bedroom I was reading in. I mean…I couldn’t believe it. Sanderson is someone that never ceases to amaze me with his writing, his creativity and originality, and utter lack of disregard for those of us who can’t stand to lose our favorite characters. That being said, Megan became a not-so-villain I adored. The way she continually protected David..I can’t even. Don’t get me started on the fangirling! But, as I said above, all this stuff I loved, cherished, lived for and looked forward to?? It was just…it was virtually nonexistent.

I met her eyes and shrugged. “I’m glad you’re not the same Megan. I don’t want you to be the same. My Megan is a sunrise, always changing, but beautiful the entire time.”


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David and Megan?? They were great. Honestly-the reason my heart still beat out of my chest for the entirety of the novel. David himself?? Please, I will NEVER forget my boy. The story I’ve come to obsess and fangirl over?? Gone. I’m sorry, but what was this supposed to be? It was good still, I mean, I wouldn’t have rated a four if it didn’t make me happy-but a four in an epic fantasy series by Sanderson? That might as well be a two.

“Well,” Mizzy said, “if only we had access to someone with a freakishly large repository of knowledge about Epics, and who can’t help but tell us about them. Like, all the time.”
“Well, it is my thang.”
“What did I tell you about that word, David?”

It lacked passion, direction, and, most of all, reason. This, to me, felt like a watered down version of what Sanderson can do. I haven’t read all his books, no, but I have read the Mistborn series and it owns a piece of my soul, just like this one does-But in totally different ways. So, my reasoning for disappointment has a fairly simple answer: Sanderson backed out. He was holding something back. That is literally the only thing I can think of. I have to wonder if, in some weird sick way, Sanderson felt like he couldn’t do what needed to be done, in this genre, to make this story unforgettable.

My world was only sounds. Each one horrible, an assault, a scream. I curled up before the barrage, but then the lights attacked. Garish, terrible. Violent. I hated them, though that did nothing. I wept, but this too terrified me; my own body betraying me with an assault from within, to pair with all those from without.

That’s not to say he didn’t do what he wanted. I have no clue…I mean, who am I to say? But I have to wonder why he didn’t make this more perilous, more jaw-dropping, more….just more. You don’t have to kill people off to make a story amazing, you know. He could have put David through the ringer-he and Megan both-but instead made it fairly easy. I don’t know. It just wasn’t what I was picturing while waiting a year for this final installment. And no, for once, this isn’t my fault. I didn’t build it up-I just know how Sanderson writes, and this felt like a completely different style, in the end.

“David…I’m warning you. I can’t control this, even with the secret of the weaknesses.”
“Well,” I said, “we’ll merely have to do the best we can.”
“But-“
“Megan,” I said, lifting her head to look her in the eyes. “I’d rather die than be without you.”


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I will always adore this series, especially books one and two, but I will always remember how the third left me needing and wanting an ending that just didn’t exist. I didn’t want my boy to die, at all, but I did want things to be more difficult for him. I mean, his whole life led up to this…wouldn’t you expect a bigger bang to finish the evilest of evil off, once and for all? Well…I certainly did.


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I stared into the burning red star known as Calamity, and knew-with no uncertainty-that something inside me had changed.
The depths had claimed me as one of their own. And though I’ve pushed them back, I still bear their hidden scar.
They insist that they will have me again.

Well written and without a doubt still one of my favorite series and authors for life, this story still had it’s moments of beauty that will stay with me forever. The descriptions and world-building still amazed me in ways I could only expect from Sanderson, giving me a few days of fun that boosted my mood from dull to shining bright. I just wish that my smile would have lasted until the epilogue when, inevitably, my dear Anna’s French frown found it’s way onto my face.

My name is David Charleston.
I clicked the button.
And I kill Epics.

**************

Where we’re from, there’s no sun,
Our hometown’s in the dark,
Where we’re from, we’re no one,
Our hometown’s in the dark,
Our hometown’s in the dark

So…I adore this series. I adore the action and the humor and this author. I am OBSESSED with David. But…I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was disappointed with this conclusion. Quite frankly? I needed just a little more. I just thought such an epic (haha) series deserved an epic conclusion.

RTC

*******

OMG. It’s fucking gorgeous. I LOVE it. I love it I love it I love it.

Read the first two chapters HERE

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DAVID!!! I need more of your horrible metaphors NOW. Ugh.

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BOOK REVIEW: Firefight (Reckoners #2)

BOOK REVIEW: Firefight (Reckoners #2)Firefight (Reckoners #2)
by Brandon Sanderson
Purchase on: AmazoniBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:

From the #1 "New York Times" bestselling author of Words of Radiance coauthor of Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series, and creator of the internationally bestselling Mistborn Trilogy, Brandon Sanderson presents the second book in the Reckoners series: Firefight, the sequel to the #1 bestseller Steelheart.

They told David it was impossible--that even the Reckoners had never killed a High Epic. Yet, Steelheart--invincible, immortal, unconquerable--is dead. And he died by David's hand.

Eliminating Steelheart was supposed to make life more simple. Instead, it only made David realize he has questions. Big ones. And there's no one in Newcago who can give him the answers he needs.

Babylon Restored, the old borough of Manhattan, has possibilities, though. Ruled by the mysterious High Epic, Regalia, David is sure Babylon Restored will lead him to what he needs to find. And while entering another city oppressed by a High Epic despot is a gamble, David's willing to risk it. Because killing Steelheart left a hole in David's heart. A hole where his thirst for vengeance once lived. Somehow, he filled that hole with another Epic--Firefight. And he's willing to go on a quest darker, and more dangerous even, than the fight against Steelheart to find her, and to get his answers.

This time, when she’d pointed it at me, she’d flicked the safety on. If that wasn’t true love, I don’t know what was.

Oh sparks, that was good. Like….exceeding my expectations good. Second books in a series sometimes fall flat-no, scratch that-they almost always fall flat. It’s hard to make that huge connection between the first book we all fell in love with and then make it flow seamlessly to the big bang of a conclusion in book three. Or…well, er, I can’t confirm if this is a trilogy. A little help, guys? Anyway, my point, which I was getting to, is that it’s hard to make every little book live up to our massive expectations, especially a second book. I must say, though, that I am in love with this series, and getting a second look into the inner workings of David’s mind only made me love him more, and I can’t see how anyone didn’t fall for his quirkiness in this one.

She gave me a kind of apologetic grimace and shrugged.
“Well, trust me,” I said. “I’m more intense than I look. I’m intense like a lion is orange.”
“So, like…medium intense? Since a lion is kind of a tannish color?”

As with all second books, there are things for me to spoil from book one, so if you haven’t read the first and plan on doing so, proceed with caution. The Reckoners have taken out the high epic, Steelheart, and David’s thirst for revenge has been satisfied. But after achieving your greatest goal….then what?? Are you empty? Hollow? Do you have a direction to go now that you’ve invested your whole life into one thing that has finally been achieved?

The answer was beginning to settle on me like a dinosaur upon its nest. My life wasn’t just about one city, or one Epic, anymore. It was about a war. It was about finding a way to stop the Epics.
Permanently.

And see, this is why I am in love with David. He is literally just soooo…..optimistic. He may have avenged his father’s death, but he isn’t bloodthirsty for more. He doesn’t NEED to continue ridding the world of evil epics…he just does it now because he is part of the Reckoners and, of course, it helps to make the world a better place. But he is starting to doubt his whole life’s passion-what if, and this is a HUGE if, what if not all epics are bad? What if his father’s belief is finally coming to life? What if there are finally some good epics who can help stop those who are corrupt?

In the bank nearly eleven years ago, I’d cowered in fear when my father fought. He’d died.
Better to drown. I gathered up all of the emotions I felt at looking into the depths-the terror, the foreboding, the primal panic-and held them in hand. Then crushed them.

At the end of book one, the huge twist was that Megan was Firefight. Crazy. Amazing. SO unexpected. And so….not what he has been taught and learned through years of research. She had infiltrated the Reckoners, the very people designed to kill PEOPLE LIKE HER, and she hadn’t made a move on them. See, when she doesn’t use her powers, she doesn’t feel that itch to kill, to make people around her suffer, and it makes her seem like she could almost be normal-and I feel like this was such a large theme in this book-fighting to be the best you can be.

I knelt in the inferno of hell itself, the world dying around me, and knew I had failed.

Prof, as we learned at the end of book one, as well, is also an epic. He RARELY uses his powers because it takes him to a dark place and he becomes the evil he seeks to rid the world of. So, when David pleads that Megan, who has fled, is changing and not using her powers, Prof isn’t having it. After all, he’s an epic so only he knows what it’s like to have the darkness creep in and consume your soul. See the problem? One is hopeful, optimistic, believing there are still good epics in the world, while one ACTUALLY IS AN EPIC and thinks he knows the inevitability of being cursed by Calamity.

I settled down, sitting on the bed beside her. The tension in her voice, that look in her eyes. “Is it working?” I asked. “Do you feel like murdering people indiscriminately?”
“I always feel like murdering you. If only just a little.”

But by far my favorite thing about this series is, and I think Kat is FINALLY ON BOARD (toot toot), the relationSHIP between Megan and David. I was a mess. I was excited. I was girly and giggly and smiley as all get out…all because I adore them. I love seeing how David would defend her NO MATTER WHAT, even when the most horrific things are being said, even when everyone would turn on him in a second because of it, and even when he doubts her motives. GOD I fell so hard for him in this book. As if I needed another reason to love a series like this: Peril, action, friendship, missions, peril, love….Jesus I’m about to combust over here. But, through it all, here it is in a nutshell and why I FELL EVEN HARDER for them, Megan is completely and utterly into David. Oh yeah. It’s happened. She is officially a David fanboy, just like me-no matter how much she fights it.

She cocked her head. “Did you just invite me on a date…to spy on a deadly Epic planning to destroy the city?”
“Well, I don’t have a lot of experience with dating, but I’ve always heard you’re supposed to pick something you know the girl will enjoy…”
She smiled. “Well, let’s get to it then.”

So, to save you all more David-ness, I’ll say one last thing to wrap up my swirling emotions of fangirling-He’s like that person that is always smiling. The one you want to punch because literally nothing gets them down (okay, maybe I’M a bit evil). His happiness is infectious and his metaphors are adorable-he is always trying to do something more, and I think that’s why I love him-he literally NEVER gives up. That is all.

“We need to talk,” she said. “And you were ignoring me.”
“I wasn’t ignoring you. Things have just been very busy.”
“Busy looking at women’s backsides.”
“I wasn’t…Wait.” It hit me and I smiled. “You sound jealous!”
“Don’t be a buffoon.”
“No,” I said. “You were jealous.” I found I couldn’t stop grinning.
Megan seemed confused. “Normally, that’s not something people smile about.”
“It means you care,” I said.
“Oh please.”
Time to say something suave. Something romantic. My brain, which had been working a few steps behind all day, finally came to my rescue. “Don’t worry,” I said. “I’d rather ogle you any day.”
Wait.

I can’t say I love Brandon Sanderson yet, because I feel like a newbie who has only just begun to stick her toes in the water of experimentation, but I feel like he and I are about to become the best of friends. I ADORE this series. I ADORE the characters. I ADORE the situations he puts them through….I think I just wanted a little more. I wanted him to push the envelope on a couple things and he pulled back at the last second and that’s why I deducted half a star. The action was almost as perfect as the first, but didn’t quite get there, for me. So, while the romance was PERFECT in this one, I wanted him to rock out on the action…and it just was missing a little something. I cannot believe I have to wait until 2016…SPRING 2016…it might kill me. But maybe I’ll start filling my time with a little more Sanderson. Sounds like a plan to me.

*************************************************

Buddy read with Kat!!!


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BOOK REVIEW: Steelheart (Reckoners #1) by Brandon Sanderson

BOOK REVIEW: Steelheart (Reckoners #1) by Brandon SandersonSteelheart (Reckoners #1)
by Brandon Sanderson
Purchase on: AmazoniBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:

Ten years ago, Calamity came. It was a burst in the sky that gave ordinary men and women extraordinary powers. The awed public started calling them Epics. But Epics are no friend of man. With incredible gifts came the desire to rule. And to rule man you must crush his wills.

Nobody fights the Epics...nobody but the Reckoners. A shadowy group of ordinary humans, they spend their lives studying Epics, finding their weaknesses, and then assassinating them.

And David wants in. He wants Steelheart - the Epic who is said to be invincible. The Epic who killed David's father. For years, like the Reckoners, David's been studying, and planning - and he has something they need. Not an object, but an experience.

He's seen Steelheart bleed. And he wants revenge.

I’ve seen Steelheart bleed.
And I will see him bleed again.

This book was EPIC. Eh? Eeeeh? See what I did there? lol

Yeah, okay. I wasn’t going to say anything AT ALL, but I can’t do that-lack of time be damned.

I LOVED this book. Not only because it was the perfect escape from reality that I needed, but because I am completely and utterly obsessed with superheroes. The idea of them, the sacrifices they make in their lives, and, cliche as it is, the damsels in distress they are always trying to save. You name it, I love it. But, in this case, it’s not about superheroes. It’s about normal people given superhuman abilities…that they choose to do evil with. Oh, MAN did this blurb hook me. When I saw my good friend reading this on here, I did what any sane person would do-I stalked her up and down until she finished to see what she ultimately thought. Her word is like law, you know.

I know, better than anyone else, that there are no heroes coming to save us. There are no good Epics. None of them protect us. Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

So, to say I was excited to start this was an understatement. I don’t read many books like this, so I can’t actually say whether it was up to par with other fantasy type novels or even his other works….And I certainly can’t say that it will be everything you’ve ever imagined and more. I only know what I enjoy and what I like….and I LOVED this one. I loved the characters and their mission. I loved the world this author created. I loved our main character, David, like crazy-I don’t think he was completely developed, for my taste, but he cracked me up at every turn and he always brought a smile to my face, especially his metaphors-they got worse and worse! In fact, they were terrible! But that’s part of the charm of this novel. It’s imperfect perfectness.

I could imagine shooting through the streets on one of these. They looked so dangerous, like alligators. Really fast alligators wearing black. Ninja alligators.
I decided not to use that one on Megan.

-Lmao, my absolute favorite line of the whole book >.<

I dunno. I’m one of those chicks that LOVES the idea of fantasy….but I just can only scratch the surface, it seems. I am so busy all the time and the idea of world-building and world-building on top of strategizing and strategizing when I get home from work isn’t exactly what I want…but these are the types of books that give me exactly what I seek most: hardcore fight scenes, light love interest, hopefully a perilistic ending with declarations of love as one of main characters is on the brink of death in the face of evil and….yup. I know this is the genre I need to break into, but I just love the YA aspect so much I think that holds me back in the more advanced fantasy type books.

I looked up the cavernous shaft. It resembled an enormous throat, stretching upward…one we needed to get up…which made us…
Bad analogy. Very bad. Regardless, there was a twisting feeling in my gut.

So basically…my point is this: I love this shit. I even really like the male POV. I don’t get enough of that, I don’t think. I don’t have much time to write many reviews this month, that’s just the way it goes. But, I couldn’t leave for my wedding/honeymoon without saying SOMETHING. It physically bothers me not to! So, I said a little bit of my piece (two weeks after finishing) and now I’ll post a couple quotes. Eh, it’s not what I wanted for this book, or any book to follow during my review drought, but it’s certainly better than nothing.

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